The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will publish its final rule mandating the use of electronic logging devices some time this year, according to Joe DeLorenzo, director of FMCSA’s office of enforcement and compliance.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared a Mitchell, South Dakota-based trucking company and its owner-driver to be imminent hazards to public safety and ordered both to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate commercial operations.

The pre-2013 34-hour restart rule is now in effect. On Tuesday President Obama signed the 2015 appropriations bill, which contains a provision suspending the more restrictive restart that went into effect as part of the hours of service rules enacted in July 2013.

As soon as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration publishes the final rule, probably on December 18, truck drivers will no longer have to file inspection reports when there are no defects in the truck.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered truck driver James H. Patterson not to operate any commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, declaring him an imminent hazard to public safety. Patterson was involved in an accident in November that killed the driver of a passenger vehicle.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will clarify its instructions to medical examiners concerning screening drivers for sleep apnea. In response to congressional concern about sleep apnea training for examiners, the agency said it will notify examiners and trainers that they should not use federal rules and advice as guidance for apnea screening and testing.

The Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for relief from the provision, which says drivers must take a half-hour break in an 8-hour shift.

Few truck drivers feel they are harassed by their employers or shippers, and drivers who use electronic logs experience no more harassment than those who use paper logs. Those are the key findings of a survey by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Trucking interests are preparing a request for temporary flexibility in the hours of service rules to help ease the congestion that is plaguing major ports. “We need some relief now,” said Curtis Whalen, executive director of the American Trucking Associations Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is looking for more information about entry-level driver training, as part of its effort to craft a rule. The agency is asking for comments on a plan to survey newly licensed drivers about the relationship between their training and their safety performance.

It will take another year to launch a pilot program to see if drivers can safely split their sleeper berth rest time. The option is being pushed by carriers and drivers who believe more flexible rules could actually reduce driver fatigue.

Truck drivers should not use hands-free phones while driving, says the National Transportation Safety Board. The Board’s recommendation was one of several changes it wants the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make in the wake of a 2013 truck-train crash that caused a derailment, hazmat fire and explosion.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Tuesday said it awarded $1 million in grants to nine technical and community colleges across the country to help train nearly 400 returning military veterans for jobs as commercial bus and truck drivers.